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Ammon News - Environment Minister Nabil Masarweh on Wednesday agreed to form a technical committee to redraw the boundaries of the Dana Biosphere Reserve to tap copper ore in Jordan’s southern region.

Speaking to the Jordan News Agency (Petra), Masarweh said that the committee, in implementation of a Cabinet decision, is commissioned to study the coordinates of the reserve’s temporary boundaries as claimed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, as reported by Petra.

"It will also bring up to date the environmental regulations for mining operations and exploration in the targeted areas, and search for alternative lands to be annexed to the reserve in order to safeguard its biodiversity," he added.

The committee consists of representatives of Energy, Agriculture and Tourism Ministries, the Department of Lands and Survey, the Royal Scientific Society, the Local Council of Tafila Governorate, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, the Geologists Syndicate, Jordan University and the Natural Resources Authority, according to Petra.

Meanwhile, the International Union for Conservation of Nature attends as an observer, and the director of the ministry’s directorate of nature conservation as a rapporteur.